Page 54
by claraowl
Summary: While baking with Mrs. Weasley, Hermione notices a particular page in the cookbook. A story is behind the page, with it weaving in and out of Ron and Hermione's story over time, including several very special Halloweens.


Diclaimer: !PH nwo ot tnaw I

Page 54

A Ron/Hermione fan fiction

One day in late October

"Mrs. Weasley?" Hermione called, knocking on the door of the Burrow.

"Coming!" she heard in reply, and a few seconds later a flour-covered Mrs. Weasley answered the door. "Hermione, dear, it's good to see you- but what brings you here?"

Holding up a stack of books, she answered, "I have those books that Mr. Weasley wanted to borrow- I just found them in the bottom of an old pile of books from primary school." She handed them over.

Mrs. Weasley looked at the title of the one on top, _The Secret Garden_, and replied, "Yes, now I recall- Arthur said he wanted to do a paper on muggle children's books. Thank you, dear. Would you like to come in for a moment?"

"Of course I would!" Hermione replied. "By the way, what are you baking?" She asked as she stepped over the threshold.

"I was just about to start making cookies," Mrs. Weasley replied, "but how did you know- oh, yes. The flour bag fell."

"May I help? I love to bake," Hermione asked.

"Yes, of course you may, dear." As they entered the kitchen, she added, "I didn't know you enjoyed cooking."

Hermione got a slightly mischievous smile on her face. "That's because I never told anyone. I basically grew up in my grandmother's kitchen. Gram's mum and dad were chefs. She learned to cook from them, and she passed it down to me. For some reason, Mum doesn't like to bake. But she does like to eat the things that Gram and I made."

Mrs. Weasley said, "I've always baked. It saves so much money, is ever so much fun, and tastes all the better for it. Come, dear, let's start. Please get down that red checked cookbook and turn to page fifty-three."

Hermione did so, and upon seeing the recipe, her face lit up. "Triple Chocolate! I remember this recipe- it was the first one I ever helped Gram make!" The two of them then began mixing everything together as the recipe stated, chatting the whole while.

"By the way, Mrs. Weasley," Hermione said as she slid the first batch of cookies into the oven, "about that recipe on page fifty-four: I've never heard of it before. Is cinnamon pear pie good?" When she straightened up, she found Mrs. Weasley staring at her in a rather odd way.

Mrs. Weasley's P. O. V. 

Page fifty-four: I put an enchantment on it when my Ronnie was five, so that none but those who truly knew and loved him, in a family or a romantic sense, could see his favourite recipe.

And now my Ronnie's girlfriend, Hermione, can see it as well. Thank goodness that they both had the sense to finally get together, after pining for almost the whole time they knew each other. Thank goodness that she can see my Ronnie's true self, unlike so many others. Thank goodness for page fifty-four.

No one's P. O. V. 

Mrs. Weasley seemed to come back to herself slightly after a few seconds. "Oh, yes, it is very good. In fact, it is a recipe I came up with when Ron was about five. He was asking why there was applesauce and apple pie but not pearsauce and pear pie. I made them, and they became his instant favourites. They still are, in fact. Would you like the recipe, dear?"

Hermione nodded eagerly, saying, "Yes, please- I'm always willing to try new recipes."

Mrs. Weasley nodded sagely as she made a copy of the recipe. "And the best way to get to a man is through his stomach, dear. That's a part of why you'd like this recipe, isn't it?" She glanced at Hermione, whose cheeks had flushed fuchsia. "It's alright, dear. We women do what we have to do to get those men out of their caves." And she patted Hermione on the arm. "But I daresay you've already used this tactic?" Hermione's blush deepened to red as she grinned rather guiltily. Mrs. Weasley smiled. "Don't worry about it in the slightest, dear; none of us will think the worse of you for it. Especially not me- that's how I got my Arthur."

Halloween, October 31st

A few days later, there was a knock on the door of Hermione's flat. She rushed to the door, smoothing down the front of her deep purple dress robes on the way. When she opened the door, she had a split-second view of a tall, ginger-haired man in royal blue dress robes before he swept her into a tight embrace. He ran his fingers through her hair, messing up all the careful positioning that she had done in the past two hours. However, at the moment, she didn't care at all. Ron had remembered their anniversary; today was the anniversary of their first year of dating. He was here, exactly on time, three o'clock in the afternoon. And he was kissing her, which was always good.

After a few long moments, Hermione pulled away for air, grinning. "And hello to you too!" She exclaimed as he gently let go of her, stepped over the threshold, and wolf-whistled. "You look especially beautiful today, 'Mione," he said as he entwined his fingers with hers.

"You don't look too shabby yourself," she replied, allowing her gaze to rove up and down his body, taking in every detail, finally coming to rest on his face.

"AHA!" He shouted, causing her to start. "I caught you at it, you can't deny it! You _are_ checking me out, and you like what you see! Am I wrong?"

"Since when have I denied it? I merely said that the thought was ridiculous, but isn't the truth always so? And also," she added with a slight smile playing across her lips, "Why wouldn't I like what I see? It's said that girls sometimes base their idea of masculine perfection on their first crush. And seeing that I fell head over heels the first time I ever laid eyes on you on the Hogwarts Express, there isn't much chance to the contrary, now is there?"

Ron stared at her. "You what?" he asked in a slightly croaky voice. Hermione covered her mouth with her free hand and turned pink. Lowering her hand, she gave him a small, embarrassed smile that made him melt.

"Ever hear of love at first sight?"

"Er… yeah, I have."

"Well, that's kind of it. I don't know how to explain it- Love just happens, I guess." And with that, she stood on tiptoe and gave Ron a kiss.

When they broke apart, Hermione took his hand once more and guided him to her kitchen. There was a wrapped box sitting there waiting for him. At the sight of it, he grinned. "I guess neither of us kept the no-presents agreement, Love." He pulled another wrapped box out of his pocket.

As they sat down, Hermione asked incredulously, "Did you really expect either of us to keep that?"

Ron shrugged. "No."

"Here," Ron said, handing her the package he brought. "Open yours first." She raised her eyebrow slightly at the gruffness of this, and then seemed to just accept this as Ron being Ron.

She could feel his eyes on her as she carefully undid the ribbon. She looked up, smiling at him, as he gazed at her, apparently nervous. Smoothing back her hair, she used the ribbon to tie the unruly mess into a ponytail. Then she undid the wrappings to find a mid-sized wooden box with her initials engraved upon it.

"Hermione!" Ron burst out, "Open it before I explode!" Slightly surprised that there was more than an elegant box, she undid the latch and it swung open. She let out a gasp. Inside was an exquisite necklace. As she looked from Ron to the necklace, he said, "I was going to get you a book, but I heard you telling Ginny how you don't have any necklaces to go with your dress robes, so I got you this. I know a rather kind elderly woman who made jewellery for a living, and a made a deal with her- I helped her with anything I could for a certain amount of time, and she made this necklace for you. She asked me lots of questions about you, so she could know what it had to look like, I suppose."

"Ron- thank you. It's beautiful. I…" She didn't seem to know what to say, so she got up, walked around the table, and kissed Ron. He wondered vaguely why she always tasted like pear and smelled like cinnamon. Then he didn't wonder about anything for two whole minutes, until the kiss stopped because they both needed to breathe. They beamed at each other, and Hermione scooted her chair around so that they were sitting hip-to-hip. She slipped an arm around his back.

"Now open yours." He did so, trying to force himself to be as careful with the wrappings as Hermione had been, but gave up halfway through. He found an opaque plastic container inside. Opening it, his two favourite smells (and tastes) washed over him: pear and cinnamon. It was cinnamon pear pie, his favourite food. On top of it, cinnamon icing spelled out in Hermione's handwriting,

I love you, Ron.

Happy Anniversary

He felt his jaw drop.

"But- how? My Mum made this recipe when I was five… She said it's really hard to make. Besides, she doesn't give her recipes to anybody…" He was staring at Hermione in a way that made her slightly uncomfortable.

"R-Ron? W-why are you staring at me like that? I was dropping off some books for your Dad, and then she invited me in for a bit and we made cookies… We were talking, and when I asked about the recipe for this- on page fifty-four, she stared at me like that for a few seconds, then gave me the recipe for this pie-"

"Page fifty-four?" Ron interrupted in a weak voice, "'Mione, Mum enchanted that page when I was little, so that nobody except those that really know what I'm actually like-and still love me- can read that recipe. _I _can't read that recipe!"

"But Ron," she protested, I'm your girlfriend! _Aren't _I supposed to know what you're like- and love you for it?"

Ron seemed to have recovered a bit, and was grinning at her. "Well, yes, actually. You are. I was just stunned for a minute there." His grin was widening. "You realize what this means, don't you?"

She thought for a moment. "To use the Muggle phrase, that we're stuck like glue, you mean?"

He grinned even more widely. "Yup."

At that point, he wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her, so that both were in bliss for so long that Crookshanks actually came in and hissed at them.

When they broke apart, Ron said, "By the way, 'Mione, thank you for this pie. It's my favourite. Will you help me eat it? These things taste better shared."

"If you fasten my necklace." He did, and they did, each having one slice. Then Hermione glanced at the clock on the wall. "We'd better get going if we're going to go to that dance, Love."

Ron jumped. "Oh, that's right! The dance! We have to get our costumes on! …Er…" He had pulled a bag out of his robes. "Do you think I could use your bathroom to change? I didn't have enough time."

Hermione smiled. "Go ahead. First door on the left down that hall."

After Ron finished changing, he went and (his ears turning red,) knocked on Hermione's bedroom door. "Just a minute!" came from within. He heard a soft hissing noise around the region of his ankles, and looked down to see Crookshanks with his fur on end. He stepped back from the door a few paces and Crookshanks darted through the cat flap at the bottom of the door.

Once inside, Crookshanks bounded over to his mistress, landing with a solid thump on her dresser. She started, then did a quick translating spell. "Yes, Crooks?" she meowed softly.

Crookshanks was highly distressed. "That Ron-boy is outside your private quarters, mistress, and he is dressed most absurdly, like a giant flutterby! He seems to be waiting for you, to suck air out of you through your mouth again! I tried to frighten him away, but to no avail. He merely stepped back three paces. What are we to do?" To his immense surprise, she smiled.

"Oh, Crooks," she purred, scratching behind his ears, "You still don't get it, do you? Ron and I are dating, and when we put our mouths together like that, it's called 'kissing'. Humans like it. The reason he's dressed like that is because we're going to a costume party. He's waiting for me to finish getting ready. See? I'm going as a spider web with spiders on it." And she finished fastening the last spider web to her dress robes. "Now be good. I'll be back a bit late tonight. Also, _please_ try to get along with Ron. I know you still don't trust him, but at least stop hissing every time you see him. He's not trying to hurt either of us. Okay, Crooks? Goodbye." She finished the effects of the spell, stroked his back once, and went to meet Ron.

When she opened the door, his mouth fell open with a soft popping noise. With a slight grin on her face and a spider on her cheek, she said, "Alright, Sir Flap. Let's go." He gave himself a small shake and said, slightly dazed, "Yes, Madame Spinstress." And they left.

When they arrived at the dance hall, Professor Slughorn, dressed as a walrus, greeted them warmly at the entrance. "Ah, c'min, m'dears, you're right on time! So glad you could make it to my little costume dance! Some others are already here, but we won't start the dancing for a little while yet. Write your costume names down on that list over there- are you a joint costume?-and then join us at that table over yonder. Hurry, now!" And he bustled away. Ron- alias Sir Flap- looked at Hermione- alias Madame Spinstress- in bewilderment. "Is he always so jovial?" She gave him a grin. "Yes, Sir Flap, he is. Come, let's put our names on that list." They hurried over to the table with the list. They read, among other names:

Waldo the Walrus

Troll the Troll

Roar the Lion and Lily the Lamb

Emma Wrackspurt and Sammy Salamander

Snitch and Seeker

Grump the Duck

At the bottom, they added,

Sir Flap and Madame Spinstress

Ron offered his arm to Hermione. "Shall we?"

She took it. "We shall." And they went to join the others at the table at the far end of the hall. Bongos were being played by a small black and orange owl in the corner, and other owls were playing different instruments. The result was oddly eerie music. One of the spiders on Hermione's costume crawled onto her hand, then Ron's arm. Ron made a jerking movement that sent the spider flying onto the table. He shivered. Why did she have to use real spiders?

They were shown to their seats by a bat. Everyone was chatting. Hermione was seated next to a girl dressed like a seeker. They grinned at each other. "Hi!" Hermione greeted her. She knew it was Ginny. "Snitch and Seeker- I see you finally 'caught' him."

Ginny grinned back, "Spider web and butterfly- I get it. Same general idea. What are the costume names?"

"Why, Sir Flap and Madame Spinstress, of course. What else could they be?" While they were talking, more and more guests were coming in. After all the seats were filled, Slughorn- alias Waldo the Walrus- called for attention.

"Welcome, Slug Club members and guests! So glad you could all make it! I will now introduce each of you-not by name, of course, wouldn't want to spoil it- and then we shall have some sweets! It is Halloween, after all…" And he was off, jabbering on about each of them in turn. When he didn't know something about one of the people, their date supplied something. Fortunately, Slughorn knew enough about Ron to give a good length of a speech. It took him a good hour to do one half of the table. When he got to the other side of the table, Ron saw someone that made his stomach clench in fury.

Dressed in a duck suit and eyeing Hermione was none other than Viktor Krum, International Quidditch Player, Triwizard Champion for Durmstrang, and Hermione's date for the Yule Ball in their 4th year. How dare he look at Hermione like that! He probably knew full well that she was taken. Yet here he was eyeing her. He glowered at Krum for a good minute before he felt something small and warm brush his hand. He looked down. Hermione was gently rubbing his hand under the table, a slight smile on her face, as if she knew what he was thinking.

He also saw McLaggen, who he also hated for going with Hermione to Slughorn's Christmas party in 6th year. He had heard that the idiot had tried to kiss Hermione twice and that she'd given him a black eye on his second attempt. He later heard that McGonagall had not taken any points away when Hermione explained that she had only been defending herself from unwanted fondling. Fittingly, the stupid bloke was dressed as a troll.

After what seemed like an age, Slughorn finished and food was brought out. Ginny commented that Hermione wasn't eating much. She explained that she had eaten before she'd come. While they were chatting, the subject of Ron and Hermione's 1st-year-of-dating anniversary was today, and she told Ginny about (in non-mush terms) the gift exchange. "Cinnamon pear pie…" Ginny said, eyebrows furrowed, "But that must mean… page 54... Hah! You're stuck with my brother!" Hermione grinned widely. "I must say I'm not sorry about it in the least."

Once the sweets were finished, Slughorn exclaimed that it was time to start dancing. Ron looked at Hermione at once. "Want to dance?" "Always. I love dancing… especially with you." Ron gulped and his ears turned red as he led her out to the dance floor. The owls began playing a fast paced song and a few of them started hooing along to the music. For the next hour or so, all was lost in the faster-paced part of dance.

After a long while, a slow song came on. Slughorn announced that this one was called "Amortentia". Ron pulled Hermione closer, and she snuggled into him. "Mmmmm… This is nice," she said quietly as they slowly revolved on the spot, "very comfy." He smiled down at the top of her head, wishing this moment could last forever. Of course, as whenever you say that, it ends. And so…

"Do you mind if ve cut in?" Viktor Krum was standing there, along with a girl Ron had never seen before. But unfortunately for Krum and fortunately for Ron, Hermione didn't seem to hear him and merely snuggled deeper into Ron. Or so it seemed to be unfortunate for Krum. He smiled, to Ron's great bewilderment, murmured, "About time.", and left. And so the rest of the night passed in dance.

When Ron took Hermione home, he was in a great mood. He had been in a great mood all night, and Hermione had been extremely happy as well. So that night ended on the threshold of Hermione's flat in a deep, long, passionate, sweet kiss.

Ch. 2

A few years later on Halloween.

Ron was pacing. He had half an hour before Hermione showed up. He had asked her to meet him here, at the place where their first kiss had taken place. He sat down and pulled out a scrap of parchment. On it he wrote:

Halloween, 3rd year: My first kiss.

And he spilled his memory out on the parchment.

It was a pleasantly crisp day, the day of the first Hogsmeade visit. A day that would change my life forever.

Because Hermione (yes, even then I dotted her name with a ©) and I had resolved our argument since we felt sorry for Harry, I was looking forward to a day with her. (In truth, I think that I'd been fancying her for at least a year at that point.) I suppose that this was sort of an unofficial date. I suppose both of us knew that, and did our best to it ignore the fact of that.

After we said good-bye to Harry and got through Filch's inspections, we started to walk to Hogsmeade. Hermione was, naturally, talking about the history of Hogsmeade. Now that I look back, I realize that I wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention to what she was saying, just listening to the sound of her voice. (I still catch myself doing that sometimes.)

Once we reached the village, we looked about everywhere. At one point, she teased me with a pair of maroon socks, and I stuck my tongue out at her. She stuck hers out at me. I was quite surprised. I then teased her about sticking out her tongue, and she did so again. All in all, it was the normal first-Hogsmeade-trip experience.

Except for one thing.

When we had reached the edge of the village, we saw a clump of trees. Surprisingly, Hermione broke off in the middle of a very long fact about one of the shops, saying, "and then- oh. I wonder what's back there."

I looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean? Aren't there just trees?" She grinned.

"You didn't listen to a single word I said on the way here, did you?"

"No."

"Well, listen this time- it all starts with an old legend…

"In the first days of Hogsmeade, there were many exceptional witches and wizards living there. Especially so were one married couple, Hector and Esmerelda. Esmerelda had been banished from her home because of her loving Hector. Hector's family was happy with the couple. Because of Esmerelda's family, the two of them eloped. After a month or two, her family gave Hector a second chance and eventually approved of him. However, the approval was made pointless after a month. For they had vanished, leaving naught but a single seed that, when planted, grew to be this patch of forest.

"They were never seen again until they had attained a great age, upon which they returned to Hogsmeade. The couple then cast a spell upon the forest clump. It is said that none will be able to enter until a couple, one that would endure the same that they had, but for a shorter period of time, had come thrice. Once to share something, once to promise something, and once to be bound forever. With that, they disappeared and were never seen again."

She looked up at me. "Which is why I was wondering what was back there."

I remember taking a good look at her, and seized by a wild desire, said, "Let's go, then." I suppose that it was lucky for both of us that I hadn't understood the legend in the least at the time. Without further ado, I grabbed her hand and pulled her into the trees after me.

After we got a few feet in, a twisting, turning path appeared. Not wanting to push through the underbrush any longer than necessary, we followed it. After about half an hour, I realized that I was still holding Hermione's hand. I found myself not wanting to let go, so I didn't. As if sensing that I had realized this and might let go, she drew closer, holding onto my arm as well. Then we reached a clearing. I felt my jaw drop.

The scene was so beautiful that I could hardly breathe (Just like Hermione is when she gets dressed up… or any other time for that matter.). There was a pond surrounded by a ring of perfectly smooth, oddly wet rocks. All around us were trees, with a weeping willow leaning over the pond. The ground was a carpet of wildflowers and clover. It was then that Hermione released me and started running toward the water all in one moment. She shouted something about touching the water. I ran after her. I called her name. She turned toward me. She slipped on the wet rock and started falling backward, arms flailing madly. I reached her and grabbed her only place I could- around the waist. Then I did the only thing that made sense: I pulled her off the rock, toward me. Our heads clonked, and she bounced back a bit from impact. That's when it happened.

Now, I'm not exactly clear on how our heads got turned to one side, or how any of this occurred at all. All I know is that we kissed.

It was my first encounter with total bliss. How long we stayed like that, I don't know; I just know that it occurred exactly at three o'clock, by the tolling of the bells.

When we broke apart, I lowered her slowly to the ground. Her cheeks turned fuchsia, my ears scarlet. It was then that we agreed not to mention this to anyone. As far as I know, neither of us have.

After we left and were on the way back to the castle, we were stopped by an elderly woman who said that we 'will make a lovely couple'. We weren't quite sure how to respond to that, so we just smiled uncertainly as she walked away, leaving us both shaken.

Although I didn't realize it at the time, we had completed the first part of the old spell: we had shared our first kiss. Today, in a few minutes time, I hope to complete the second part: the making of the promise. And so, the next time I write upon you, I will be either a disappointed, rejected, and hopeless man or an extremely lucky, ecstatic, capable-of-anything man, engaged to be married to the most wonderful woman in existence.

- Ron

Behind Ron in the trees was Hermione, who was watching him. She couldn't see what he was writing from here, but from his actions it was obvious. He had run his hand over that rock, and then over his lips… She checked her watch. Five to three. It was time. She stepped out of the trees. "Ron?" she called.

He turned around with a look of relief on his face, saying, "You came."

"When have I ever not? And why would I not? It's our anniversary, after all." She reached up and kissed him.

They both seemed extremely nervous as they walked to the spot. Steeling himself, Ron spoke. "'Mione, I'm really sorry that I've been so distant these past few weeks. I just wanted to prepare. I love you, and I know I've told you that before, and I really do. Hermione… I could spend the rest of eternity with you, just you and be happy. You're amazing- you've stuck by me through everything, not to mention being absolutely brilliant, gorgeous, caring, and never afraid to stick up for what you believe in. It doesn't hurt that I probably wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you. All of this-" he gestured around as if his words were physical things, "-is why I need to ask you something." He knelt down on that still wet rock and pulled something out of his pocket as the bells rang 3 pm.

"Hermione, will you marry me?"

She covered her mouth and swayed on the spot. She looked like she was about to faint. She sat down next to him and spoke the one word he had been hoping so desperately to hear: "Yes." And she kissed him. He slid the ring gently onto her finger after they had broken apart. Then she gave him a small smile and said, "You know, Ron, there was absolutely no chance of me refusing you. Want to know why?" He nodded. She pulled a small box out of her pocket and opened it. Inside was a wedding band with the words "Always the tone of surprise." engraved on the inside. She slid it on his finger. Ron was staring, apparently speechless.

"You see, Ron, I was really tired of waiting, so I decided that if you didn't propose today, I would. In truth, I would've said yes at our first anniversary." And she kissed him again.

After several minutes, Hermione said, biting her lip, "There's only one problem. My parents don't want us to be together. So we'll probably have to elope…I-I'm sorry, Ron…"

Ron gave a small smile. "So basically, that means we can't tell anyone about this, just like our first kiss."

"I guess so."

"Are we ever going to tell anyone about our first kiss?" Ron queried. "Because Ginny is on my case about you a lot, wants to make sure I treat her best friend right, I guess."

"Well, she's on my case as well, Ron. When she slept over last, she almost made me tell during Truth or Dare. Also, Gram wants me to tell her all about you, and it's really hard because I've never really kept a secret from her before. Maybe-" she broke off.

"-we should just tell people if they ask," Ron completed, "because someone's going to get it out of us eventually?"

She smiled. "Precisely. But let me tell Ginny, won't you? I've wanted to for a while now- a person can only want to keep a secret for so long. I was really close to cracking in sixth year."

"Er… wow. As a matter of fact, so was I. Oh," he added, "Do you think Ginny will tell Harry?"

Hermione grinned. "She might. Your sister can keep a secret rather well… If it's not big news."

"By the way, 'Mione, I never wanted a big wedding. So I guess this fits perfectly."

"Ron?"

"Yes, 'Mione?"

"I love you."

"I love you too." And they kissed.

Ch. 3

One day in the following November

There were seven girls crammed into the living room of Hermione's flat: Hermione, Ginny, Luna, Parvati, Lavender, Eve, and Mary. (Mary and Eve were the other girls in Hermione's dorm at Hogwarts.) It was Hermione's turn to host their monthly sleepover and they'd just started Truth or Dare. Ginny was grinning evilly. "Alright, Parvati, Truth or Dare?"

"Er…" Parvati was eying her warily. Ginny was the queen of Dares, and could come up with some pretty embarrassing Truths when necessary. She decided to be safe. "Truth!"

"Who was your first kiss?" "Pierre Pliè, the boy from Beabatons. Just a good-night kiss." They all grinned as she blushed. It had cropped up during the last party that she was going steady with him now…

"Okay, Mary!" Luna exclaimed, "Truth or Dare?"

"Dare!"

Luna thought for a moment. "Oh!" she exclaimed, "Do a handstand with only your left hand!" Mary attempted to do as she was bid, but toppled. As a forfeit, she had to pet Crookshanks for ten minutes. This was always the forfeit; Crookshanks liked it when they played Truth or Dare. Next it was Lavender's turn. Hermione asked,

"Truth or Dare?" Lavender looked rather nervous- she hated Hermione's Truth questions- she had a way of getting very secret information out of you. She wasn't quite sure whether Hermione had ever forgiven her for sixth year. She chose Dare. "Alright… do a backbend," Hermione said, "I'll spot you if you wish."

Lavender blinked. "A what?" she asked. Hermione demonstrated, standing up and arching backward, ending in the position of a bridge. It looked rather painful. She lowered herself to the floor and sat up.

"Ready?" Lavender managed to do one with Hermione spotting her. Lavender sat down, shaking. It had been rather difficult. She decided that she didn't like Hermione's Dares much either. Then Ginny did a Truth and Luna did a Dare.

Then Ginny said, "As we are all aware, it is Hermione's week to be grilled."

"If you don't mind, Ginny, I'd rather be sautéed." said Hermione, grinning. The other girls groaned.

Ginny then said, "You've spent too much time with my family, Hermione. You've started telling bad jokes. Anyway, we are finally going to get you to answer some Truth questions." Hermione _always_ picked Dare, and the others were dying to find out why.

"First question: Why have you never picked 'Truth'?" Ginny shot off.

"Simply because I have a secret that, until a bit ago, I was not allowed to tell." Hermione answered. The other girls squirmed with excitement.

Luna asked serenely, "When did you first fall for Ron?" Hermione's cheeks turned light pink as she said at top speed, "When-I-first-saw-him-on-the-train-on-the-way-to-Hogwarts-in-our-first-year. Which," she said more slowly, "explains why I was furious when you" she looked at Lavender, "took him in sixth year. I had actually been planning a move of the same type for that day, but a bit more…private." A positively dangerous look crossed her face. "My plan… I'd waited a long time for the right moment to do something of that sort. Ooh, I daresay I went a bit mad during sixth year. Birds and spiders… You shrieked ever so loudly when you realized that your pillow was a spider… My acting lessons came into use at that point. So much fun…" She laughed rather eerily; the expression on her face was positively alarming. "'Twas only the beginning of my many plots… Not many of them worked, however…" She was more muttering to herself now than talking to them; she seemed to have forgotten that they were there. "The only thing that kept me vaguely sane was the memory of third year's Halloween… How I love Halloween…

"We'd made up, temporarily at the very least, after our squabble about Crooks and the traitor. I looked forward to it…

"After we'd said our goodbyes to Harry, we set off to Hogsmeade. It was a lovely day, slightly crisp. We talked about what we knew about the village on the way there, and I must've bored him silly with all those facts. That is, if he listened to me at all… Sometimes he just listens to me talk and doesn't pay the slightest bit of attention to what I'm saying. But I digress…

"When we arrived, we did the normal round of Hogsmeade, the one that everyone does the first time they go; the shops, the Shrieking Shack, and the Three Broomsticks. Pretty normal first time, all in all…

"With one tiny exception."

At this point there was a general intake of breath from the surrounding girls. This seemed to awaken Hermione from her state of half-muttering, and she stopped abruptly. She gave herself a little shake, saying, "Er… Sorry about that. What's the next question?" She looked around at them. "And why are you staring at me like that?"

"Go on," said Ginny, "finish your story!" Hermione blinked. "What story? What do you mea-" she turned bright pink. "I was thinking out loud again, wasn't I?" They nodded. "I really need to work on that… anyway…"

"When Ron and I had finished walking around, we came upon a cluster of trees. When I wondered aloud what was back there, he questioned what I meant. After rolling my eyes at his failure to listen, I told him the legend surrounding it." And she repeated it to them.

She then continued, "He then grabbed my hand and pulled me into the trees, whether originally as a joke or just plain misunderstanding of the legend, I have no clue. To my great surprise, we managed to get through to a clearing. There, before me, was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen. There was a sparkling pond surrounded by wet rocks, a grand old weeping willow sweeping over it, and a carpet of wildflowers. Something took me over at that point, and I took off running towards the water, saying something about touching it. When I had just stepped onto one of the rocks, Ron called my name. I turned around to face him, my feet went out from under me, and I started flailing my arms madly about. Ron, who had been right behind me, caught me around the waist and pulled me off the rock, towards him." She paused, looking uncomfortable and very pink in the cheeks.

"Now, I don't think that either of us meant for it to happen. When he pulled me off, our heads clonked together, and we bounced away and back. Now, I'm still not sure what exactly happened, but- Ron and I kissed." Her entire face was fuchsia now. "And then?" Ginny prompted. "I melted," Hermione stated simply, "just like I do every time." She smiled quietly for a minute, apparently lost in a memory. She then said, "Once we drew back, we were both stunned, obviously. It was then that we made a promise: Not to speak of this to anyone before consulting with each other first. We decided that it was about time people knew, since we've been going out for two years now. Don't you agree?"

They were all gaping, open-mouthed, at Hermione. To keep a secret- and a juicy one at that- for that long- they couldn't believe it. It was probably the biggest scoop on the grapevine any of them have ever heard. It was then that they realized-

"Aughh!" Lavender moaned. "You had your first kiss before anyone else, and you didn't even _tell_ us until what-eight years after the fact?"

"Well, a promise is a promise," chimed in Luna, "but wasn't it always a bit obvious? I didn't mention it because I thought it was common knowledge." They all looked at her, then at each other, and then began to laugh. Soon they found they couldn't stop. And so the rest of the night passed in laughter, teasing, and general silliness. It must be admitted that they teased Hermione the most of all, along with asking for details about her current relationship with Ron, along with the history of their relationship- the part that she'd done so well hiding from them. This was one thing they were most eager to hear, since they'd never had the chance to do so before.

The next morning, Luna stayed back a bit after the other girls had left. Once only She, Hermione, and Crookshanks were left in Hermione's flat, Luna turned to Hermione and said, "By the way, congratulations on your engagement to Ron."

"WHAT? How- when-huh?" Hermione was spluttering, confused.

Luna patted her on the shoulder. "Don't worry. I can just tell by your eyes. A bit more happiness has flown in, you know?" And she left, leaving Hermione trying to understand.

And so that year flew by with wedding preparations, secret keeping, and much time that Ron and Hermione spent together.

Ch 4

October 31st of the next year

Hermione was fretting. She had three more hours of being a Miss, and it was driving her nuts! Luna was trying to calm her down enough to do her hair. Eventually, even Luna reaches the end of her tether, so when this occurred, she forced Hermione into a chair and pointed her wand at the former's heart. "Hermione," she said, her voice sounding much like Professor McGonagall, "If you don't sit still and let me deal with your hair, I'm going to make you! And," she added, her voice softening, "don't worry about this so much. I bet Ron's just as nervous as you are, hoping this goes flawlessly. Remember, Neville's helping Ron and setting things up, as well as keeping him from going crazy. Which is why you insisted that Ron have someone to help him as well, isn't it?"

This was true. Once Luna had left that one sleepover, Hermione had dashed over and told Ron. He wasn't surprised that Luna figured it out- he'd expected her to. "After all, we need someone to help keep you sane, don't we?" After much arguing, they had also decided to tell Neville. Ron needed help staying sane as well. Besides, they owed both of them so much.

"I'm sorry, Luna," said Hermione, finally holding still, "I'm just nervous, excited, anxious, and rather impatient. I can't wait!" There was a hiss from bed, where a very grumpy Crookshanks sat. In the past two hours, he had seen everything in Hermione's flat disappear into her little beaded bag, been put into a cat carrier, moved to a rather odd flat, and had a miniature jacket put on him. On top of all of this, the information he had gleaned from the conversation of the last two hours implied that his mistress was about to be bound, in some odd human way, to the Ron-boy. All of this equalled a very grumpy Crookie. He sat there, hissing irritably, as Luna started weaving strips of cinnamon bark into Hermione's hair. Hermione, watching the process in Luna's mirror, was puzzled.

"Luna, what on earth are you doing?"

"I'm just enhancing your natural scent."

"My what?" Hermione, being nervous to her very core, was having a harder time than she usually did when dealing with Luna.

"Your natural scent," Luna explained calmly, "is the scent that your body gives off for no apparent reason, and is impossible for you to smell. Yours is cinnamon. I myself have been told that I smell like a blueberry pound cake. This is why everyone's Amortentia smells different. Even animals have them. They often have the same one as certain humans. Daddy said that when an animal meets the person they share a smell with, they usually despise that particular person. He also said that it'll take a very long time for them to get used to each other. Oh, and each person's lips apparently have their own flavour. Think about it. Ron's probably taste like something, don't they?"

"Yes, they do… they taste like honey and he smells like pumpkin…" She let her voice trail off, thinking about Ron.

Some two hours later, Luna pronounced Hermione's hair to be done. It wasn't straight, but it wasn't a big bushy mess, either. It looked… perfect.

"Thanks, Luna." Said Hermione, carefully getting up. "And I'm sorry about being such a fidgety pain."

"It's okay, Hermione," smiled Luna, "that's what friends are for! Now let's get you into your dress."

The next fifty-five minutes passed in quite a hurry. "Ready to go?" Luna asked, giving Hermione a quick look-over as she did. Hermione nodded, too excited to speak. She'd been waiting for this moment for a long time.

When the two of them arrived, Ron, Neville, and a priest were standing by that rock, Ron actually on it. Luna hurried up and stood opposite Neville, grinning. Then Hermione walked toward them, out of the trees. Crookshanks was in her arms in the place of a bouquet. It had seemed a bit silly to have a bouquet, as Luna was the only other girl there. So she had decided to carry Crookshanks. Once Hermione came into full light, Ron's jaw dropped with a very audible pop. She looked absolutely beautiful. She was wearing a very simple wedding gown and veil that fit her perfectly. She was wearing the necklace that he'd given her on their first anniversary, along with a beautiful blue bracelet she'd borrowed from Luna. Her hair had been tamed back a bit, and had what appeared to be cinnamon weaved into it. But the thing he noticed the most was her face.

She was positively glowing. Her eyes were shining, her cheeks were flushed, and she had on the best smile he'd ever seen her wear. It was enough to make him drool. Fortunately, he checked himself just in time. When she reached him, she carefully set Crookshanks between their feet. She straightened up, took his hand, and turned to the priest.

The ceremony was beautiful. Everything went flawlessly- until the kiss.

When the priest said to "kiss the bride", Hermione shifted her weight back a bit as they took a step closer. The rock gave way into the water. Crookshanks managed to jump off in time, but the other two didn't. The result of this was both of them sitting in the water, sopping wet. They looked at each other, laughed, and kissed.

So that was how they had their first kiss as a married couple: sopping wet, sitting in two feet of water, Crookshanks hissing at them, the others laughing, and with joy in their hearts.

And you know what?

It was their best kiss yet.

*Finite! Now go read the entire series (again).*


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